Thursday, April 30, 2009

Grandma's Homemade Flour Tortillas (sorta)

I may have mentioned that I spent a good bit of my childhood in my grandmother's kitchen...mostly gossiping and watching her cook, but occasionally I would give her a hand. I remember using an old wooden rolling pin to help her whip out loads of tortillas for a table-full of hungry children. We'd load these magical discs (nobody made 'em like Grandma) with all sorts of things--beans, guac, butter, you name it...

So after years of trying, I finally got the magical recipe out of Grandma, veganized it, and made a batch of my own. And let me tell you--what these tortillas lack in beauty, they most certainly make up for in taste!

Grandma's Homemade Flour Tortillas (sorta)

2 c unbleached white flour (plus extra for rolling)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon evaporated cane sweetener

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 c vegetable shortening

3/4 c unsweetened almond milk (luke warm)

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix well with fork. Add shortening and mix with fingers until consistency is even. Add almond milk and knead well (about 3-5 minutes). Separate dough into 8 equal parts, creating small dough balls.

Generously dust a large, flat surface with flour. Using a rolling pin (or a sanitized wine bottle...not kidding), roll out each ball into a round, flat shape. Use additional flour to dust balls as you roll them out.